Start at the end. Start with knowing exactly what happens at the pinnacle of our sport in a clay-court final, and it becomes much clearer what you need to focus on in practice to also reach these lofty heights. In other words, let data from the match court make the practice court smarter. Rafael Nadal defeated Alexander Zverev 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in a riveting Internazionali BNL d’Italia final on Sunday. Zverev had a real chance at victory, up an early break in the third set, before rain threw a curveball into the match, allowing Nadal to reset and win the final five games. It was a high-quality final, with several long, grueling rallies bringing the Italian crowd to their feet...
The metrics behind Alexander Zverev’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem in the Mutua Madrid Open final on Sunday make you take a deep, hard look at where winning and losing really occurs in a tennis match. It’s in the first two touches. And then daylight. When Zverev and Thiem either struck the ball once, which was a serve and a return, or they added just one more shot each to the rally but no more, that counted for 65 per cent (70/108) of all points. [ALSO LIKE] A maximum of two shots in the court for each player basically equalled two out of every three points in the match. This is where winning and losing really occurs – even...
Normally, it’s Rafael Nadal’s run-around forehand that steals the spotlight as he prodigiously racks up titles in Monte-Carlo. Not so today. This time it was the backhand that stole the show. Nadal defeated Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2, crushing a backhand winner cross-court on match point to notch a record 11th victory at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The scorching backhand was the perfect icing on the cake. Nishikori’s strategic intentions to attack Nadal’s backhand was obvious early on, as the Spaniard hit 17 in his opponent’s opening service game of the match. Nadal committed three backhand errors in that game, but would then successfully make 26 consecutive backhands to find himself leading 5-2 in the opening set. The insurmountable lead was...
Our understanding of forehands and backhands has just added another layer - ironically from one of the greatest servers our sport has ever seen. John Isner defeated Alexander Zverev 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 to win the Miami Open presented by Itau on Sunday, with an analysis of his forehands and backhands shedding new light on what other factors heavily contribute to their overall performance. The following five areas break down Isner’s forehand and backhand proficiency with a new lens. The analysis does not include returns, volleys or overheads, but does include baseline groundstrokes and approaching the net. 1. The Serve Protects The Backhand On the surface, there is nothing special about uncovering that Isner hit 24 backhands in the opening set....
The paradox of tennis is that our minds quickly dismiss the short points, but they are by far the most influential to the final outcome. Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2) to win the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday by forging his winning advantage in the abundant short rallies in the match. He won the short, lost the long, and emerged the victor, saving three match points along the way. [ALSO LIKE] Fans all over the world that tuned in to watch this instant classic will no doubt enjoy discussing the extended, bruising baseline exchanges from these two heavy hitters. But the reality of this battle, lasting two hours and 42 minutes, was...
